Bradford, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's basketball team was able to build a 19-point second-half lead but were unable to hold off the Hilbert Hawks, who battled back to win the game 82-81.
Despite an early Jeremy Rodriguez three, the Panthers fell behind early, as the Hawks came out of the gate hot, quickly building a 12-5 lead in 5 minutes of action. The Panthers were able to quickly erase the deficit, however, as after a timeout they went on a 9-point scoring run. Caden Beldin started the rally with a pair of free throws before Nathan Schneider was able to intercept a path and race down court on the break. Schneider made the layup through contact and added one more from the line for a three-point play. After another Panther stop, Gavyn Mason put the Panthers in front with a driving layup. Schneider came away with another steal on the next possession before Beldin hit a three-pointer to put the Panthers up four and force a Hilbert timeout.
After the break, the Hawks made a layup to slow the Panther change, but it did not last long, as Pitt-Bradford added nine more to push their advantage to 23-14. Schneider made a free throw and added a layup before assisting Mason on another bucket inside. Lennon Lindholm added two more in a row, leading to another Hilbert timeout. The Hawks were able to score on back-to-back possessions to get the Panther lead back to 7 before Rodriguez and MAson made layups of their own to push the lead to double digits. Mason kept the Panther advantage in double digits over the final four minutes of the half, scoring six points, but a late free throw from Hilbert sent the game to halftime with the Panthers up 41-31.
The Panthers got off to a strong start in the second half, as they scored on their first possession and then added a fast-break layup after a steal from Rodriguez. After five minutes of play in the half, the PAntehrs went on an 11-4 run that pushed their lead to 19 points. Schneider started the rally with consecutive driving layups. After a Hilbert basket, Gavyn Mason made a putback layup and Beldin added another inside-field goal on the next possession. The Hawks slowed the charge with a jumper before Schneider converted another three-point play to put the Panthers ahead 62-43.
After the Schneider free throw the Hawks began their comeback, taking advantage of 4 Panther turnovers in 5 possessions to quickly cut the lead back to single digits. Rodriguez hit another three to push the lead back to 12 before the Hawks scored a quick eight points, getting to within four. The Panthers looked to withstand the rally as a pair of Schneider free throws followed by a Rodriguez layup saw their lead increased to 7 points. The Hawks responded, scoring 10 of the next 14 points to set up a thrilling finish. The teams each traded a free throw, but a three from Lindholm rattled out of the basket to give the Hawks the ball with the Panthers up 81-80 with 25 seconds to go. On the last play, Hilbert was able to drive to the basket and make the game-winning layup with less than two seconds to go. The Panthers were able to get off a last-second heave, but it fell short, ending the game.
Gavyn Mason had a career night for the Panthers, finishing with 25 points and 10 rebounds. He made 12-15 from the field and added 1 assist, 1 steal, and a pair of blocks. Nathan Schneider also recorded a double-double, finishing the game with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 6 assists. Two other Panthers reached double figures, as Jeremy Rodriguez made 6-8 from the field for 14 points and Caden Beldin added 12 points off the bench.
The loss drops the Panthers to 11-13 on the season, with a 5-8 record in AMCC play. They will wrap up their regular season on Saturday, as they take on Penn State-Altoona. The game will begin after Senior Day activities at approximately 2:00 p.m.
